


Tina's Textiles

by PaellaIsComplicated



Series: Barbershop Quartet [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M, Vermont
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 06:19:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16012040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaellaIsComplicated/pseuds/PaellaIsComplicated
Summary: Kurt needs to visit his high school friend Tina, who is now living in Burlington, VT with her fiancé Artie. He and Blaine decide to make the trip into a romantic getaway.





	Tina's Textiles

**Author's Note:**

> I got to interview Jenna Ushkowitz last year and she was surprised when I mentioned that most fanfic has Tina end up with Mike. She prefers Artina, so I promised her I'd write some. This is that. Also there used to be a store called Tina's Textiles in Burlington, and this series is inspired by stores I see, so it all kind of came together and then took a year to write.
> 
> Thanks to BowtiesandBoatShoes for the Beta!

Kurt woke up in a four-poster bed with the familiar feeling of Blaine’s arms around him and an unfamiliar quiet outside the window. He smiled at the clear light coming in around the curtains and the smell of mountain air and snuggled Blaine a little closer, enjoying the cool morning after an unusually hot and humid summer in New Jersey. Kurt kissed Blaine awake and eventually they made their way downstairs to the back porch for breakfast. 

They were at a country inn just outside of Burlington, Vermont, and the view was lovely. The inn was perched about half way up a mountain and although the street it was on almost seemed suburban, lined with houses and with a fairly constant flow of cars and trucks traveling from one village to the next, there wasn’t much behind the inn except for a grassy slope leading up to the wooded hillside. The back porch, where breakfast was served, was nestled at the bottom of this hill, and Kurt looked out at the trees in the distance while he listened to Blaine making small talk with the owner of the inn.

“So nice to have you visit us,” Mitch said. “Where are you from?”

“Ohio,” said Kurt.

“New Jersey,” said Blaine at the same moment.

They chuckled at Mitch’s confused look.

“Originally, we’re both from Ohio,” Kurt explained. “But Blaine is right. We met in New Jersey and that’s where we live now.”

“Oh, really?” Mitch asked. “My wife’s family is from New Jersey. Where abouts do you live?”

So Blaine explained where they were from and how they’d met less than a year ago, literally running into each other in the doorway of a diner. Mitch loved the story and asked them questions about living in New Jersey. 

As they were talking, a small orange dog hopped up onto the porch. “Hi, Stanley,” Mitch addressed the dog. “Back from your rounds?” He turned back to Kurt and Blaine, “Stanley comes with me every day. We like to say he owns the place. I just manage it.”

Blaine was delighted by Stanley, who came over to sniff first Blaine, then Kurt, and then followed Mitch into the kitchen to see if Mitch might drop some sausage while he was cooking breakfast. When he discovered that Mitch was not ready to make omelettes yet, Stanley wandered back out to the porch to see what he could get from the guests. Kurt looked back at the kitchen door, then mumbled to Blaine, “Do you think that’s sanitary?”

He turned to look at his boyfriend, and saw him bent over a lap full of Stanley, snuggling the dog as he ran his fingers through Stanley’s wiry fur. Kurt smiled, because the sight of Blaine with a dog was unfairly adorable and should be regulated by the government. 

“How do they figure it out so quickly?” Kurt asked.

“How does who figure what out?” Blaine wondered.

“Dogs,” Kurt explained. “How do they figure out in less than a minute that you’re the biggest pushover in the room?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Blaine said, feeding Stanley a piece of muffin with one hand while giving him a back rub with the other.

Kurt rolled his eyes. He loved this man so much but he really hoped Blaine’s tendency to play with puppies didn’t turn into Blaine wanting a puppy because Kurt was not having a dog shedding all over his clothes and tracking mud on his floors. Unless Blaine was actually holding the dog when he asked Kurt if they could get one, in which case Kurt couldn’t actually be held accountable for his actions. 

Breakfast was delicious and satisfying, all the more so because it was cooked by someone else and served on a comfortable porch with a mountain view and a full pot of coffee next to the kitchen door when you wanted a refill. People lingered and chatted over omelettes and cups of coffee. A family at the other end of the porch pulled out some board games when they were done eating and began to play one of them. Stanley made the rounds, wagging his tail at everyone as they came down to breakfast while keeping an eye out for dropped tidbits, and then settled on his bed near the kitchen door to supervise once everyone was done eating. 

When their bellies were full and their caffeine addictions satisfied, Kurt and Blaine drove up to Burlington. They found a parking spot on a side street and made their way over to the Church Street Marketplace hand in hand, enjoying the freedom afforded to them by a college town in a mostly liberal state. 

The marketplace was a lovely pedestrian market with shops and restaurants along both sides. Some of the restaurants still had outdoor seating arranged with heaters to fend off the cool fall weather. Blaine made a mental note to come back to the game and comic book shop he saw, and they looked around a couple of art galleries selling handmade housewares and jewelry. Kurt put his foot down when Blaine admired a $1500 sculpture of a dog that was bigger than he was, though Blaine wasn’t serious about purchasing it. 

After meandering and window shopping for a while they finally arrived at the store they were looking for. The bell over the door chimed in a friendly way, and an Asian woman started towards them, saying, “Welcome to Tina’s Textiles, can I--Kurt!” Blaine watched in amusement as his usually reserved boyfriend was engulfed by an enthusiastic hug, and didn’t even seem to mind very much. 

When she finally disentangled herself from Kurt, she looked at Blaine and smiled. “I’m Tina. You must be Blaine. I’ve heard so much about you!” And Blaine found himself the recipient of a hug almost as enthusiastic as the one Kurt had received.

While Kurt and Tina reviewed what they knew about everyone they had gone to high school with, Blaine looked casually around the store. It was bright and cozy, with beautiful fabrics displayed on rolls and also in use on upholstered furniture, window treatments, and clothing. Everything was rich and enticing and Blaine found himself fingering various fabrics because he just needed to touch them. When they were done catching up, Tina and Kurt excused themselves to go to Tina’s office in the back, and Blaine left the shop to wander around Burlington for the day.

Kurt’s life had changed drastically in the months since they had gone to DC for the Women’s March and their friends Nick and Jeff’s wedding. A photo of the newlyweds had appeared in the Washington Post as part of their coverage of the march, and then was syndicated to many other papers and re-posted all over the internet. Someone from the Gay Men’s Chorus of DC had reached out to Nick to inquire about the unique ties they were wearing in the photo, which had been designed by Kurt. The chorus commissioned a set of ties for their next concert, and before long, Kurt had enough inquiries to start an online business selling ties and bowties he designed and made himself.

At the same time, Kurt had been losing interest in performing professionally. Creative expression was essential to who Kurt was, but he found at least as much satisfaction in making clothing as he did in performing, and he found that he loved the life he and Blaine were building together in New Jersey. Blaine worked days at the barbershop, so designing and manufacturing ties merged much better with that life than performing eight shows a week on Broadway did. 

So Kurt was here to talk to his old friend Tina about running a textile business. If he could hire a few people to help sew the ties, he could scale up the business to a level that would support itself. But that would require investment and some risk, so Kurt thought it was a good idea to get some advice before he jumped in. And a vacation in Vermont during the fall with his hot boyfriend didn’t seem like a bad thing either. So Tina and Kurt talked the day away in Tina’s office while Blaine went back to make friends with the clerks at the game shop. 

********************  
When Blaine returned to Tina’s Textiles to meet them for dinner, he saw a young man in a wheelchair approaching the shop and politely held the door while the man maneuvered through it. He was a bit surprised when the man shouted, “Where’s my Bae?” loudly upon entering the shop. But Tina and Kurt looked up from whatever they were discussing and smiled. Kurt shocked Blaine for the second time that day by running over to give the man a hug. Blaine was used to a much more reserved Kurt--one who didn’t really touch anyone other than Blaine, or Burt if he was visiting. Seeing Kurt fling himself at two different people in one day was showing Blaine a whole different side of his boyfriend. But he understood about high school friends--after all, where would he be if Nick and Jeff hadn’t taken him in when he had to leave Columbia? 

Still, it was cute seeing Kurt so happy, and Blaine couldn’t resist having a bit of fun.

Blaine ambled up behind them and quietly said, “Kurt, have you had a secret man in Vermont all this time?”

Kurt looked up and smiled at Blaine then, “Blaine! You’re back. This is Artie, Tina’s fiance. Artie, meet my boyfriend, Blaine.”

Artie turned and held out a gloved hand, “Artie Abrams. Thanks again for your help with the door.”

Kurt turned the tables on Blaine then. “You’re meeting other men in doorways now, Blaine? I thought that was our thing!”

Tina had her jacket on by then and grabbed Artie’s wheelchair handles. “What are we still doing here, boys? This is a college town. Let’s go get our karaoke on!”

Blaine held the door open again before offering his arm to Kurt as they followed Artie and Tina to the bar.

It was surprisingly easy to talk over locally brewed beer and organic burgers. Blaine liked Artie and especially Tina, whose unique eye for everything reminded him of Kurt. Of course, they had plenty of New Directions stories to reminisce about, but Blaine felt like it was about time he was left out of high school glee stories after the amount of time Kurt had spent with Warblers. And of course they all had Rachel Berry stories to laugh about.

About halfway through the night, Blaine got up from the table to take his turn at the mic. When he turned to the audience, Kurt took one look at his face and then turned back to the table to see what Blaine had been drinking. There was a mostly-full beer at Blaine’s seat, and Kurt thought he was probably safe.

Then Blaine said, “This one is for my favorite guy. If you’re lucky, he’ll come up here and help me.”

Kurt’s heart did a little see-saw inside his chest. On the one hand, drunk Blaine was adorable, and his boyfriend was serenading him in a bar full of people. On the other hand, Blaine was a ridiculous lightweight who was drunk after only half a beer, and his boyfriend was serenading him in a bar full of people.

The music started.

“Really, Blaine?” Kurt called out. “The Turtles?”

Imagine me and you (I do)  
I think about you day and night, it’s only right  
To think about the boy you love and hold him tight  
So happy together!

Blaine danced out into the audience, clearly serenading Kurt, drunk eyes shining with love, smile sexy, bow tie jaunty--honestly, how was Kurt supposed to resist this?

If I should call you up, invest a dime  
Would you say you belong to me, and ease my mind?  
Imagine how the world could be so very fine.  
So happy together!

Blaine was now singing right in front of Kurt, and Kurt stood up, took the mic, and ran up on to the stage to sing the chorus, Blaine laughing and following behind him to get another mic and sing harmony.

I can’t see me loving nobody but you for all my life  
When you’re with me, baby the skies will be blue, for all my life!

Kurt took the next verse:

Me and you, and you and me,  
No matter how they tossed the dice, it had to be.  
The only one for me is you, and you for me  
So happy together!

As they started the next chorus, Tina and Artie started singing along and soon the whole bar was singing the ridiculous song joyfully, those who could contributing harmonies that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t, but nobody cared. They all sang together with abandon, enjoying the joy of the song and the obvious love and happiness shared by the two young men on stage.

They returned to their table, faces shining. Artie gave Blaine a high five.

“What should I sing next?” Blaine asked.

“If you’re thinking of ‘Mellow Yellow,’ I draw a line,” Kurt replied.

“You’re no fun,” Blaine pouted, putting his head on Kurt’s shoulder and looking up at him.

“No, even puppy eyes won’t work on me this time!” Kurt exclaimed. 

“I think it’s our turn, anyway,” Tina said, heading up to the stage as Artie rolled out to the hallway where the ADA access was. 

They did the most adorable version of “When I’m Sixty-Four” by the Beatles, that had everyone in the room cooing at how adorable they were as a couple. 

“Best friends getting married, yo!” Artie crowed as they returned to the table. 

“I can’t wait for the wedding,” Kurt replied. “Now, tell me again how you two wound up in Vermont, of all places.”

“Well,” Artie began, “I had a few internships during school, and I found out that in the real world, it’s not easy to get jobs on film sets when you’re in a wheelchair. Very few locations are wheelchair friendly, and directors with small budgets don’t want to spend extra money on ramps for a Production Assistant.” 

“But isn’t that illegal?” Blaine asked.

“It is,” Artie agreed. “But it’s impossible to prove that people aren’t hiring me because of the chair. After all, I have no experience beyond film school. And it’s hard for me to begrudge an independent filmmaker who’s trying to work with a tiny budget. I know how hard it is.”

“Combine that with the fact that the films I want to make aren’t exactly commercial, and I thought it would be better to get my PhD and work at a college. And I got into UVM, so here I am,” Artie finished.

“And we got back together when we all came home for Brittany and Santana’s wedding,” Tina explained. “After I graduated from Brown, we decided we’d get married, so I came up here and got a job in this shop until I figured out what I wanted to do. It turns out I loved it, and the woman who owned the shop before me was ready to retire, so we worked out a deal and now the shop is mine. Artie has quite a while before he finishes his degree, and then hopefully he’ll get a job here or down at Middlebury so we can stay. We really like this town. It’s funky and full of students and professors, so we have a lot of smart friends.”

“That’s awesome,” Blaine replies. “You’re awesome. Kurt, your friends are awesome.”

“Well, that’s our cue to leave,” Kurt says. “Blaine is a ridiculous drunk, but he’s also pretty handsy, so I think I’ll take him back to the inn. It was great to see you, Artie. Tina, thanks for all the advice.”

And with that, Kurt kissed Tina on the cheek, gave Artie a hug, and dragged his silly boyfriend out of the bar. When the cool night air hit their faces, Blaine snuggled up to Kurt’s side affectionately. “You’re pretty,” he said.

“And you’re adorable when you’ve been drinking,” Kurt smiled back, thinking it was probably good that Blaine didn’t drink often because of his medications.

“That bar was the best. Your friends are the best. Tonight was the best. Can we go on more trips?” Blaine babbled.

“It was, they are, and we can,” Kurt replied.

“You’re my favorite!” Blaine enthused.

“You’re my favorite, too,” Kurt laughed. 

As they walked across a street, Blaine started to giggle and pulled Kurt down the street. Kurt didn’t see anything funny, but drunk Blaine was too cute not to follow, so he went along to see what was going on. Blaine pressed Kurt up against a wall and kissed him senseless. Then he started to kiss Kurt’s cheeks, giggling in between kisses until Kurt finally gave in and asked him what was so funny.

“You are loved,” Blaine said, not stopping the kisses.

Kurt was confused. “What?” he asked.

“You are loved, Kurt,” Blaine repeated. “So much.” He started to giggle again, then backed away from the wall, holding Kurt’s hand and pulling gently until Kurt followed. When they were across the street, Blaine turned Kurt around and wrapped his arms around Kurt’s waist so they could both look at where they had been. A beautiful mural spelled out

YOU ARE LOVED. 

Kurt smiled and turned in Blaine’s arms. “You are loved too, Blaine Anderson,” he said, still smiling as he kissed Blaine tenderly. It was a very sweet moment until Blaine started to giggle again. Kurt put his arm around Blaine and steered him to the car.

It didn’t take too long to get back to the inn, but Blaine managed to sober up a little bit while Kurt drove. They walked up the stairs hand in hand and Kurt unlocked the door and made sure to lock it behind them. 

“Dance with me?” Blaine asked, hand outstretched toward Kurt.

“Of course I will,” Kurt replied, taking Blaine’s hand. “Should I put on some music?”

“No need,” Blaine answered, and he began to sing. 

Some day, when I'm awfully low,  
When the world is cold,  
I will feel a glow just thinking of you  
And the way you look tonight.

You're lovely, with your smile so warm  
And your cheeks so soft,  
There is nothing for me but to love you,  
And the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,  
Tearing my fears apart  
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,  
Touches my foolish heart.

Yes you're lovely, never, ever change  
Keep that breathless charm.  
Won't you please arrange it?  
'Cause I love you  
Just the way you look tonight.

With each word your tenderness grows,  
Tearing my fears apart  
And that laugh that wrinkles your nose,  
Touches my foolish heart.

Yes you're lovely, never, ever change  
Keep that breathless charm.  
Won't you please arrange it?  
'Cause I love you  
Just the way you look tonight.  
Just the way you look tonight.  
Darling  
Just the way you look tonight.

As they danced, Kurt felt breathless, and lovely, and charming. Although they had been together for almost a year, at moments like this, Kurt found it hard to believe that Blaine was really his. When Blaine finished the song, they didn’t stop dancing, but continued to sway together, Blaine’s left arm around Kurt’s shoulder as he snuggled their cheeks together and his right hand held Kurt’s hand close. Then Blaine turned his face up and kissed Kurt.

The world stopped. All they knew was each other. All that mattered was the kiss and the feelings between them. Then suddenly, Kurt took a gasping breath that broke his lips from Blaine’s.

“Move in with me,” he said in a rush as he exhaled.

Blaine froze, searching Kurt’s eyes for something. For a long moment they gazed at one another, Kurt holding his breath as he waited for an answer.  
Finally, Blaine smiled. 

“Of course I will,” he said softly. 

They kissed again, and this time, it was the start of something new: something they would make together.


End file.
